This invention relates to compositions for topical application of erythromycin or erythromycin compounds. The compositions herein are particularly useful for the treatment of acne.
Acne vulgaris and other types of acne and acneiform skin maladies associated with the hyperplasia of the sebaceous follicle are often treated by the oral administration of antibiotics. Tetracycline has been the traditional drug of choice, but other antibiotics such as erythromycin, lincomycin and clindamycin have also been prescribed for this use. While oral administration of these drugs is often effective in treating acne, oral therapy has several disadvantages. For example, the oral administration of antibiotics subjects the entire body to the antibiotic composition; yet, in acne, only the skin is affected. Moreover, almost all antibiotics have some undesirable side effects when taken orally.
In contrast with oral dosing in the treatment of acne, topical application of antibiotics delivers the antibiotic to the afflicted situs and minimizes the antibiotic levels in the circulatory and gastrointestinal systems. Undesirable side effects occurring from oral administration of the drug are greatly reduced, and yet, properly administered, the therapeutic effect of topical application is comparable with, or superior to, that derived by oral administration.
Compositions for topical treatment of acne are known. Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,099, issued Apr. 20, 1976, discloses compositions for treating acne lesions by topical application of tetracycline antibiotics in a skin penetration vehicle comprising sucrose monooleate, decyl methyl sulfoxide and alcohol.
Stoughton, U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,516, issued July 13, 1976, and Arch. Dermatol., 84 182 (1976), discloses a method for topically treating acne by applying formulations containing various antibiotics in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The data presented are said to indicate that tetracycline in a pyrrolidone-based penetrating vehicle does not effectively control the inflammatory lesions of acne. In addition to tetracycline, compositions of erythromycin, erythromycin derivatives and clindamycin in the same vehicle were studied. The combination of erythromycin and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone gave results which were better than tetracycline in the same vehicle, whereas the antibiotic lincomycin gave superior results in controlling the inflamed lesions.
In light of the foregoing, it is clear that the effectiveness of any particular antibiotic as a topical treatment of acneiform skin diseases depends significantly upon the particular skin penetrating vehicle with which it is used.
It is an object of this invention to provide a topical formulation to enhance the penetration of erythromycin and erythromycin compounds through skin.
It is another object of this invention to provide erythromycin compositions which can be used topically in the treatment of "acne", especially Acne vulgaris.
It is still another object of this invention to provide storage-stable compositions comprising erythromycin antibiotics in a skin-penetrating vehicle which is especially adapted for the topical treatment of acne.
These and other objects of this invention are secured, as will be seen from the following disclosure.